Racing to the Rescue

Kilian

After Gael and Declan drop me off at home, I'm not even sure how to feel. I walk in the front door to find my brother on the couch with two random girls that are scantily clad. Probably just the next in Nolan's long line of conquests, I hate the way he treats girls.

The blonde one smiles at me when I walk in and says, "Hey, handsome," in a flirty tone.

Not interested. Even a little.

"Hey," I huff trying to sound as disinterested as possible before I head toward my bedroom.

I wish I could say it's a comforting space but it's passable at best. A full sized bed with a run of the mill navy blue comforter. When I was younger my mom and I spent a lot of time picking everything out and organizing things. It used to bring me comfort to be in here with her influence but now this whole house just makes me sad.

There are too many terrible memories here, too many bad feelings stored up in the wall. I've had the same room and blanket since my mother passed away. I don't want to live in the past but I've also never had the heart to change it.

Before I can relax, I lock the door behind me because I can't be bothered with any of Nolan's shit tonight. Or either one of his friends.

I slump down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Now that there is finally some quiet, memories of the last few hours flood into the front of my mind. The way that I freaked out and raged at my bike was embarrassing. Everytime I think about it I cringe. I feel like I made a fool of myself, and now there is no way that the guys can't tell I have feelings for Wren.

How did everything fall apart so quickly? Should I just man up and tell them how I feel? If I do that now, it's going to be so complicated. This is going to have to wait until at least after homecoming. What if after homecoming is too late?

It's okay, at the end of the day what I want is for Wren to be happy and if Gael makes her happy I'm going to have to live with that. He's a good guy and at the very least wouldn't completely cut me out of Wren's life. This can work out, it has to.

I'm jolted from my thoughts by a loud ping from my phone. A text from Wrenny, I can't help smiling at first but once I see what it says, shivers run down my spine. Is she okay? I feel like I've been wondering that way too much tonight. I wish she could just get a break.

If she needs me I'll be there, I don't know why I'm even waiting for an explanation. I'm standing up before I can even finish my reply.

"Come please," she says.

In a minute, I'm up and out my door. Nolan said something to me as I ran past the couch but I didn't register what it was. I feel like I can't get to my bike fast enough. After letting her know that I'm coming I tear off on my bike. It's a short ride to Wren's but tonight it feels like an eternity.

All the worst thoughts are ping-ponging around in my mind. I don't think this is just about Gael or Homecoming anymore, she wouldn't text like that unless it was serious.

What did her mom do now? What about her dad? She said she was losing it, is Quinny okay?

Just then I remember the creeper that was at her house before the game and panic. If he touched her I'm going to kill him and I'd be happy to go to prison for the rest of my life if that's what it came to. Thinking about that makes me angry, now I'm livid and I'm scared. I can tell that my heart is beating fast, whether it's from my intense pedaling or my anxiety I'm not sure. I'm betting on the latter though because I'm shaking a little bit.

After I pass the entry sign for Wren's neighborhood I know that I'm getting close but that just makes me pedal faster. When I turn the corner I see her in the driveway, she's still in her clothes from earlier but it's dark and I can't make out her face.

When she sees me, she starts running down the street so I jump off my bike and throw it sideways. I free my hands just as she catches up to me and flings herself into my chest.

I still have no idea what is happening, but Wren is crying so I instinctively wrap my arms around her. My heart is beating so fast and I can feel that hers is too. The way she's holding onto me it's like she's never been so scared. She's crying so much, I can feel her tears through my t-shirt.

I'm trying not to think about how incredible it feels to be the one she called, the one that gets to be here holding her right now. All I ever wanted in life was to repay Wren and her family for everything they did to make sure that I didn't fall through the cracks like Nolan did. Now I might be able to, I just wish I knew how.

I stand there like that for a minute until I catch my breath, at least she is alive and here and I can touch her. Once the adrenaline coursing through my body takes a back seat I realize we can't just keep standing here in the middle of the street.

"Wrenny?" I whisper.

She just keeps sobbing into my chest, one of her dainty hands is twisted in the fabric of my shirt, holding on for dear life while the other is wrapped around me holding me close. It's so hard not to feel out of control, a different type of excitement starts to course through my body. This could be disastrous.

Come on brain, this is serious, we can think about how amazing it is to have her close like this later.

I hold her for a few more minutes while trying to focus only on the emotional elements of this. She smells so good though and with her hair under my nose it's impossible not to notice. When we do separate it's her that finally pulls away.

She reaches out and touches my chest where she's left her tears, "I'm sorry," she finally says with black makeup running down her cheeks from her bright blue eyes.

In the dark of night most of the colors have disappeared into shades of gray but not Wren, her blue eyes look as vibrant as ever and her red hair only compliments her beautiful face further.

"Don't be, what happened, are you okay? Is Quin okay? What's wrong?" I let out a long string of questions that I've been keeping at bay, and I know I sound panicked.

Come on Kil, get yourself together, it's time to be strong for her; I take a deep breath and look at her face. She is still so pretty, but there is so much pain behind her eyes and her cheeks are flushed.

"What happened Wren?" I say a little calmer.

She looks up at me and says, "Can you come inside and talk?"

Of course I can. At least it seems like whatever is happening isn't an emergency because she's not in a hurry to tell me about it. I pick up my bike and walk it with one hand on the handlebars and one arm around my girl.

My girl? Did I just think that? Chill out Kilian.

When we get to her front door she opens it and lets me in, but she puts her finger to her lips, "Quin is asleep," she whispers.

I nod and we make our way to her room as quietly as we can. I've been in her room a thousand times before, maybe even more, but this time it feels different. I still don't know what happened and why she is upset, plus it's late at night and her parents don't know I'm here. Her room looks safe and unchanged though, the place that I like to hang out. It's where you can see the real Wren, she puts out this persona to the world of being hard and tough but inside she's soft and sweet. She likes to sew and her room is all pastel and girly.

There are touches of her rock and roll obsessions on her walls, like the shirtless photos of Liam LaGrange over her desk. I try not to notice those parts though.

She sits on her bed and pats the baby blue comforter beside her, my heart takes this as some kind of signal to run and starts to beat so rapidly I feel short of breath. This is normal; we sit in her bed all the time. Don't freak out.

I sit down, then take a deep breath and ask her again, "Please tell me what happened?"

Wren lets out a shaky breath and I can see pain all over her face. I put my hand on her knee to show her that I'm here to support her and she starts spilling her guts. She tells me all about her mom and Robert and how her dad is passed out drunk. She tells me about Quinny and how sad she seemed. This is another situation that I don't feel equipped to handle but unlike my problems with Nolan last night I can figure it out.

"Where is your mom now?" I inquire.

"I have no idea, I told him to take her if he had to and I guess he did. Now I feel like something is going to happen to her and it is going to be all my fault!" Wren says with a twinge of guilt in her voice.

I put both of my hands on her shoulders and look into her eyes, "None of this is your fault. I'm sorry you had to deal with this alone. If I knew that guy was still here, I would have walked you girls inside. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," I sigh, I'm so disappointed in myself, "I should have been here for you but I was in my own head, I'm sorry."

She nods her head but she is holding her lips tight like she's trying not to cry, "What do I say to my dad in the morning?" she squeaks, still holding back tears.

"That's for future Wren to decide. We figure that out tomorrow, we don't know what is going to happen tonight or what you'll wake up to tomorrow," I answer.

"Is your dad home?" she asks.

"No, Nolan is there with some girls," I reply.

"Stay with me? I don't want to do any of this by myself anymore," she pleads quietly.

My breath catches in my throat. I've stayed over at their house hundreds of times, but always in the living room or at the very least I sleep in the loft outside her bedroom. Stay with me sounds like she means stay here, in her room with her. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, she's clearly very upset and she might not even know what she's saying.

I stand up, "Sure, I'll grab the couch in the loft and if you need me you know where to find me," I say with a smile that isn't convincing, even to me.

"No, Kilian, stay with me in here, I need you in here," she says so quietly I'm not even sure she said it. "I don't feel safe, I want to feel safe."

"Okay, Wrenny, whatever you need," I sit back down beside her.

Now I'm worried, this isn't my Wrenny, I don't think I've ever seen her this upset.